The great bookish problem every time you start a new reading challenge....how to choose when my first book fits perfectly with two beautiful picture prompts? #AestheticallyMatched 😁

This was SUCH a good graphic novel adaptation, they really kept the heart of the story.

One of my fav things about Gatsby is the narrator (Nick) making biting comments while watching the absurd & dislikable characters around him. This “prequel“ still has dislikable characters, but since it's third person we miss out on Nick's witticism. Also I didn't read much about the storyline before diving in, and I'm just not a fan of war fiction.

Image from:
http://www.thefangirlinitiative.com/2014/11/5-reasons-why-i-love-great-gatsby.ht...

I had a great time during the #FairytaleReadingChallenge, and read a lot of books I wouldn't normally have picked. Thanks for hosting @Charityann!

Non bookish post…loving the earrings I got from a local shop…delighted to discover they have an Etsy shop so I can order more!

https://www.etsy.com/shop/iamsonotcool

This book is one part story, one part art, and one part typography. Love this image!

This book is filled with typographical delights like this.

Holy crap, apparently this is a middle grade book but it's easily THE CREEPIEST book I've read all year. This book is the stuff of nightmares. #screamathon

Steve (who already struggles with anxiety) is worried about his sick baby brother, when a wasp queen invades his dreams and offers to “fix“ the baby. 😳

This book had a solid plot, and some great characters, but for some reason it felt really slow. We seem to take a few breaks and tangents from the main plot, such as flashback of the main characters, and on the one hand it feels well woven into the main story but for some reason it detracted from the overall book for me. #screamathon

Just finished for this for #fairytalereadinchallenge I have to admit I wasn't super excited for an Aladdin retelling but this was actually pretty good!

So glad I read this! I loved Into The Drowning Deep and wanted to read Grant's novella that came before it. Admittedly I love ITDD a bit more because of the depth (hah!) of the story and characters, but if you're not willing to commit to 450 pgs this is a solid alternative option. Or if you love the idea of killer mermaids then read both 😉 #screamathon

Artwork from:
https://www.deviantart.com/arynlight/art/Drowning-Deep-715131862

The pacing was a bit off for me on this book, but overall I enjoyed it - great witchy vibes for the season, perfect to curl up with under a blanket with a cup of tea! #screamathon #witchinthetitle

Artwork from:
https://www.deviantart.com/mimadeo/art/The-Old-Forest-756992372

Yep, I hear ya, Murderbot. 😂
A security robot who dubs themselves “Murderbot“ working for a team of scientists on a distance planet would rather be left alone to watch tv. A quick and entertaining read, perfect for the season! #screamathon

Multiverse travel is possible BUT only if your counterpart in the other world is dead. Cara, born in the wasteland, is perfect for traversing bc so many of her otherselves are dead.

Cool premise, but there is SO MUCH going on in this book I dunno how to rate it...it felt like a trilogy stuffed into one book.

Just finished for the #screamathon WoC challenge! Have I somehow missed the signup sheet for this week? 🤔

Artwork credit ⬇

Unseasonably warm today - doing some #audiogardening for the #screamathon with some fuzzy buzzy friends 💛 🐝

A small town in Pennsylvania is plagued by an illness that makes you forget. Two teens wake up in a movie theatre having no memory of the past few hours, and set out to discover the mystery.

Loved the story and the artwork! Read for the #screamathon #diversifyyourshelf challenge this week!

Continuing on with this awesome series staring Detective Chew, who gets psychic impressions from whatever he eats. Next one already on hold at the library! 🐔 #screamathon

Pulled some crafting books for festive ideas to do with the nieces and nephews! The projects in Handmade Halloween are a bit too fancy-pants for the kiddos (and for me!) but the others were pretty good. #screamathon

I‘ve never seen a more accurate illustration of allergies, lol

This was a delightful book to flip through. Who knew plants could wreak such havoc? Lots of the usual poison, rashes, and toxins…but also some unexpected exploding and pyrotechnic varieties.

I got the ebook version from the library but I can tell this would‘ve been better as a physical copy. Looking forward to checking out the one on Wicked Bugs!
#screamathon @4thhouseontheleft

Focuses on the victims rather than the killer, questioning long held assumptions about them being “prostitutes”. This book gives an eye opening glimpse of Victorian era London life for people (and especially women) who have fallen on hard times.

The narrator of the audio book was good, but there‘s photos and maps in the print/digital version, so you may want to check out both!

#screamathon @4thhouseontheleft

teeheehee...
Ah, the never ending debate on sartorial choices in comics 😊 🧡

Lifted from: https://bookriot.com/fashion-disasters-jericho/

Doing some Hallowe'en #audiostitching with the tagged book for #screamathon. This is quite interesting so far - focuses on the victims of Jack the Ripper instead of trying to solve the mystery.

A friend of mine recommended this series and lent me a few to start with. Seems like a pretty solid British detective series. I was a bit concerned with all the characters but I was able to keep everyone straight and follow through the twists and turns. Pretty good! #screamathon

Decided to do this for the #screamathon week 1 Scare Pairs challenge! This book was...not what I was expecting? It just felt kind of slow and hazy, I couldn't quite get into it. Can't believe I'm saying this, but the movie is better. Who doesn't love a good midnight margarita party and some solid 90s fashion?

Awesome artwork by Berlin Michelle and taken from here:
https://society6.com/product/practical-magic2213745_print

Posting some book recs in honour of Truth and Reconciliation Day. 🧡
#integrateyourshelf

TBR for the #screamathon! Really trying to get through my physical books, but I know I‘ll end up doing some ebooks/audiobooks too. I haven‘t decided what to read for the extra weekly activities yet but I‘m definitely excited! 👻🎃

Little Rose suddenly finds herself in a glowing, square hole in the palm of a giant metal hand. 20 years later, Rose is a highly trained physicist leading a team to learn the hands secrets.

Book 1 of 3. LOVED it, but everyone seems to agree the last book is terrible....do I skip the rest of the series never knowing how it ends, or keep reading & risk disappointment?! 🤔

Artwork here:
https://www.deviantart.com/guido9/art/Sleeping-Giant-640932434

Looking for something a little different for this month's #fairytalereadingchallenge? Check out this fantastic Robin Hood remake from Tor.com:

https://www.tor.com/2013/12/04/in-the-greenwood-mari-ness/

JackofMidworld's comment on Tor summarized it perfectly: “familiar enough to pull you in, different enough to keep you there“.

Image from Tor.com by Allen Williams

A mermaid who can't remember who she used to be; a musician who almost drowns; and a set of triplets: one who sees the future, one who sees the present, and one who sees the past.

Lots of good characters. It's a “retelling“ of The Little Mermaid but I don't see a connection other than “story involving a mermaid“ Still worth checking out! #fairytalereadingchallenge
Artwork from here:
https://www.deviantart.com/littlemissel/art/Fathomless-452508996

Detective Chew gets psychic impressions from whatever he eats. Eating an apple might bring images of an orchard, what kind of pesticide was used. Eating bacon might bring images of slaughter. And being a detective brings the unique opportunity to eat...well...evidence. And bodies. Dead or alive.

This definitely puts the “graphic“ in “graphic novel“. How am I only hearing about this series now?!

Came across this book about killer mermaids when trying to find something for the fairy tale retelling challenge...this doesn't quite fit the prompt but it looks pretty awesome. I'm only about 50 pages in but the newspaper/interview excerpts, multiple viewpoints, and the “just scienc-ey enough to make you almost believe it“ style is giving me definite Max Brooks vibes. 🧜‍♀️⛴☠️

A love story of two artists who share a connection told through their correspondence…but what‘s really impressive is the amount of detail and style poured into each page and letter in these books. Even the stamps and postal marks are pretty. I love me a good epistolary book and this one didn‘t hold back.💌📫📮

Two sisters with a dark family history live with their uncle in a creepy old house in a village where no one likes them. Shirley Jackson has suck a delightful writing style.
Finished this book while #audiocrafting some little plants that would be right at home in the sisters‘ garden 🪴

“Leigh Chen Sanders is absolutely certain about one thing: When her mother died by suicide, she turned into a bird“. I mean how can you not want to read a book with that tagline? Beautifully written, the characters were really brought to life in this one.

Incredible artwork from here:
https://twitter.com/KiraDeSomma/status/954114077520998400/photo/1

Re-reading this for a buddy read! It's been a good 15+ years since I read Not Wanted on the Voyage, and I remember loving it even though it had me shook. Not sure how this is going to go...Past Me's taste in books seems pretty hit or miss these days.

I like to think the above pic is how the story ends in an alternate universe. 😐

A friend of mine pointed out how Collins totally name dropped a few times with old poets and songs in Songbirds & Snakes, cementing the fact that the HG is, in fact, our world in the “near future“, and not some alternate universe. I didn't pick up on that first time I read it.

I liked the premise of this retelling, there were definitely some good parts and the ending was pretty good. But the beginning kind of meandered and it took a while to get someplace.

Incredible artwork here:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/666409255/wendy-peter-pan-believe-disney-fan-art

A friend of mine recommended this memoir on audiobook, so I decided to dive into it this weekend. About 30 min in and children are spontaneously bursting into flames when they are upset. Either I‘ve mixed up the name of the book, or this is one helluva memoir...😂🤣😂

I thought the cover was being metaphorical 🤷‍♀️

12 sisters live in the attic of their controlling father‘s house & sneak off each night to dance @ clubs during prohibition til their dad decides to marry them off.
Definitely enjoyed taking a ride with these ladies. A bit slow @ 1st, but TBF if you‘re going to have 12 characters with more personality than “pretty girl #6” it‘s gonna take a minute.
#fairytalereadingchallenge
Artwork: https://www.deviantart.com/vasylissa/art/Flapper-Girl-712808568

Things I learned from the special interview at the end of this novel:
--this is the author's first book (whaaaat)
--one of the author's son wrote the music used during the audiobook (how cool is that?)
--the author is a Korean immigrant who used to be a lawyer and who has a child who was treated with an HBOT (!!)

Wowza, still thinking about this one. Korean immigrants own a hyperbaric oxygen therapy clinic to treat autism (and other things), when a fire kills two patients and injures others (that's not a spoiler, that's the first chapter!) We follow several characters over the four day trial to unravel what happened.

But it's more than that. Every few chapters the author says something that makes me put the book down and wonder about all the grey areas.👇

Re-reading this as a buddy read! 💚 💙 💛 💜

Gorgeous artwork from here:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CCT3JcahQ62/?epik=dj0yJnU9SC1SZlhLQlRYWTVpUlAxVUNLQ2...

Finished this a couple of weeks ago, I didn't realize it was written by someone from #NewZealand, looks like I accidentally participated in the #ReadAroundTheWorld prompt last month!

I really enjoyed this one, a little surprised it's not more popular. Set in England during the cholera epidemic we follow the two daughters of the President of the Water Board. One stays in London while the other👇

A young boy mourns the loss of his mother and uses books as his refuge. As his father remarries the books start to whisper to him, and he ends up in a fantasy world searching for a mysterious book that holds the secrets of the King.

This was a bit sadder and darker than I thought it would be, but I enjoyed joining David on his adventure.

Artwork image credit:
https://www.deviantart.com/hollyp0p/art/The-Book-of-Lost-Things-47714937

So far this seems to be several interwoven stories: two lovers who seek immortality, and several groups of people spread across the world who compete to re-create an ancient perfume.

Meanwhile, while googling more info on something in the book, I accidentally stumbled across a cocktail recipe (from goop, of all places 🤔) that incorporates the ingredients of the fictional perfume into a cocktail...

https://goop.com/recipes/jitterbug-perfume/

“Manroot“ 😂 😂 😂 well there's one I haven't seen yet.

Remember the guidance councillor in 10 Things I Hate About You who was hopelessly searching for synonyms for her fantasy romance novel? I THINK I FOUND THE BOOK SHE WROTE.

Speaking of the importants of teaching proper sentence structure:
“I want to mount you like my stallion did“
Wait, what now? I don't think that sentence means what you think it means... 😝

Me: sitting in the parking lot of work not wanting to leave until the audiobook chapter is done, openly weeping
Colleague: *bangs on window* OMG are you ok?! What's wrong?!
Me: ....MICHELLE OBAMA'S FATHER JUST DIED!!!
Colleague: ...oh...erm...yeah...didn't that that happen like 10 years ago?

ah, the tragedy of reading before work... 😅

Artwork from Jillian Tamaki:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/06/books/review/michelle-obama-by-the-book.html

Who needs dating aps when a DNA test will match you with the one you are genetically made for? We follow 5 ppl who have been matched: divorcee, a CEO, a fiancé, someone stuck in a dead-end-job, and a serial killer.

So relieved it isn't a “cautionary tale“ blaming sci & tech, and extra points for such an unusual plot. The 5 different POVs made me feel like I was gossiping about the drama-rama in all my friends lives...but in the best possible way.

Only purchased this because my name is Lara. It‘s the adult equivalent of those souvenir magnets in airports with your name on it. 🙃

Anyone else have the urge to bust out the pencil crayons and go to town on this gorgeous cover?🖍